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Before Monday’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar accepted his nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is handed out by Major League Baseball every year to recognize a player for “extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

Pillar, 27, was named the Jays’ nominee last week for his charitable work as part of the team’s annual winter tour and also for regularly visiting children in hospitals in the Toronto area and across Canada.

“It’s always nice to be recognized for doing good things off the field,” Pillar told the Star last week. “To be mentioned in the same breath as Roberto Clemente is a huge honour and I think when you hear the name Roberto Clemente, our brains don’t associate with how talented he was as a baseball player. He’s arguably one of the best players of all time.

“But it should just be a message for young kids and professional athletes that the impact you can have off the field is arguably more important than what you do on the field. I’ve definitely started to set that foundation for myself. I’m using my platform as a professional athlete to do good in the community and hopefully help other people reach whatever dreams they have.”

Clemente, a Hall of Famer who played 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, had his career cut short when he died in a plane crash in 1972 while attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. MLB has handed out a philanthropy award since 1971, but it was renamed to honour Clemente in 1973.

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Each team nominates one player and fans can vote for the winner on Twitter and Facebook. Carlos Delgado is the only Blue Jay to have won the award.

SANCHEZ SKIPPED AGAIN: As expected, 24-year-old right-hander Aaron Sanchez will have his turn in the rotation skipped again this week. Sanchez is next scheduled to start on Sept. 21 in Seattle against the Mariners. That would put him in line to make two more regular-season starts or one more plus a tiebreaker or wild-card game. Sanchez was likely pegged to be skipped this week to limit his workload, but manager John Gibbons said Monday that the time off will also help the blister that forced Sanchez’s early exit from Sunday’s start to heal.

LUMBER SLUMBER: A year ago the Blue Jays’ offence was the most feared in baseball, scoring more than 100 runs more than any other team. This year they still rank among the league’s top seven run-scoring teams, but they are not nearly as frightening. And since the all-star break they have been decidedly mediocre, scoring the 16th-most runs in the majors in the second half, while ranking 26th in batting average, 19th in on-base percentage and 18th in slugging percentage.

DICKEY AVAILABLE: R.A. Dickey had his most recent turn in the rotation skipped and isn’t scheduled to pitch again until Friday or Saturday in Anaheim against the Angels. But Gibbons said the 41-year-old knuckleballer is available to pitch out of the Jays’ bullpen in a pinch. He could be used to mop up innings in a blowout, but isn’t likely to be used as a long reliever early in a game because Gibbons said he would want Josh Thole to catch him rather than Russell Martin. Scott Feldman is the likelier candidate to serve in long relief if a starter makes an early exit.

LOUP LOOKS GOOD: From 2012 to 2014, Aaron Loup was one of the Jays’ more reliable relievers, posting a 2.77 ERA over those three seasons while averaging nearly 60 innings per year. The last two seasons, however, have been battles for the 28-year-old. This year he has bounced between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo, making only 14 major-league appearances. Since rejoining the club last week, however, Loup has performed well as a lefty specialist, retiring both of the batters he has faced while earning a key double play in Friday’s game. In a bullpen light with lefties, Loup could come in handy down the stretch. “He’s looked good this weekend and since he’s been back, really,” Gibbons said before Monday’s game.

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